For my finial project i choose to write 2 songs and record a challenging jazz song with some new chords and techniques to help me progress with my guitar playing. I feel i have gotten into my own head too much for this project i felt like i added a lot of stress and self doubt to this last project,I was worried i wasn’t going to complete it all and it would ruin my predicted grade and i think because my predicted grade was a good one that is where all the stress came from.
Throughout this project I have noticed my guitar playing ability has improved which i am glad as i really practiced and practiced at home so i am glad to see my work paid off.
I was able to (after ALOT of struggle) use the basics of DAWs like Band Lab, Ableton and Logic. I was able to record my demos with Ableton and with help recorded the jazz song with Faye.At the start I really doubted my self and my ability to use DAWs but after a while i just decided to put my head down and try my best with it and thats how i was able to record the demos after i figured out how to set up amps and cabs and stuff like that to record through a audio interface.
A good amount of evaluation is on developing practical work, research and some others but there is evaluation throughout this project
The main aim for this project was to write two songs, write lyrics, learn and gain some experience with DAWs and record the songs I write
I confirm that the attached portfolio is all my own work* and that any work created by anyone other than myself, including AI-generated content, has been appropriately referenced.
What was the main aim of my project and did I achieve it?
The main aim of my final project was to successfully record 2 songs and to record Compromise by Phony Ppl with the help of Faye, Pav and Bontle. I feel I have achieved the the recording Compromise that went great the only thing that didn’t go to plan was for me to improvise a solo for a section. I was happy with the way Compromise turned out but when we went to extract the recording from the computer we somehow used the wrong guitar take so its not perfect but oh well. The plan for the 2 original songs was to record the full length songs with lyrics, I found my self really struggling with my time management and was really overloaded with stress with this project and outside of it with work also but i was struggling to write lyrics I think the part the made it tough was the fact that these were going to be words that came from me and I just felt for some reason that I. would never be able to produce something that I can be satisfied with the reflection of me from the words if that makes sense.
Looking back how could the planning process have been more effective in preparation for the final project?
A better more effective plan for me i could have been less repetitive with the way i was explaining things that took more than a day to complete. I found my self loosing motivation every time i looked at the plan just because of how poor and lazily it was made up.
Another thing that made my planning poor was I left my self no room for any error at all what I mean is I made one plan which was fine but in every situation nothing goes exactly to plan and to prepare for that I could have planned for what happens if say theres no guitars at the moment or the is no power right now so I can’t t go on my digital space or just little things that you cant expect
I could have been more specific my goals by planning for more measurable outcomes. I could have shown specifically what I was planning to get out of doing writing for my final project to do with
If I could do it again my project would have run along the lines of “Today I am going to work on the chorus of the song” or “today i will work on the bridge” or the “verse” Whatever’s getting worked on I need to talk about and plan specifically.
Did I make any big changes to my project along the way and why?
I did make pretty big changes to the project, The first change I made was i was originally supposed write 6 songs all with lyrics and to learn a challenging song wich was Mississippi Queen by Mountain to help with my guitar playing ability but I soon realised this would be a lot of work and i didn’t think I was ready to tackle such a challenge so I changed the goals to write 2 songs with lyrics and perform Compromise the song that me and Pav was learning for fun at the time and the only reason it was changed to that is because I was stressing because I thought the project was just falling apart and Pav suggested performing the song with him on keyboard and a university level student Bontle for a vocalist. I was able to stop stressing after that so i made a good way through writing the songs but a few months after we found we wouldn’t be able to perform Compromise as we weren’t all available so after that I chose to record the song with an improvised solo and hope that was enough to cover the lack of performance.
What really went well with this project and what really could of gone better?
I was really happy with the way compromise turned out I had been working on it for ages with Pav and recording the song wasn’t even too hard i had some help with the technical bits of it but other than that I was able to record a really good first take and that aloud me to make a good 5 or 6 the only thing wrong with the proof of the recording is the wrong guitar track was used while we was transporting the music recording file.
I was disappointed with my 2 originals because I wasn’t able to think of lyrics for the summer song and only got 1 verse and 1 chorus for the Leeds song which was not the plan also since it was my first time using Ableton the recordings are not the best of quality and both songs are just demos because I couldn’t finish the songs.
How well did we work as a team on this project?
Me and Pav was working together on this for some time with good communication and the fact that we were really committed to not only finishing the song but going back more than once because a certain chord could be played differently to give it a nicer sound or little changes that do make subtle differences in the sound.Me and Bontle didn’t communicate very much when we did, straight to the point friendly and very willing to help. I feel with all of these things put together from each of us is what made completing that part of the project feel so swift and not as hard or stressful as the other side to my project.
How did the feedback help us improve?
I constantly gained feedback from Pav after every guitar lesson on Wednesdays after we went through Compromise a few times and then a bit on what i was writing and recording i’d say the feedback helped me not drift too far away from my plans for the project because there was some moments when once I saw a pause in my progression I kept on finding new things to write and get carried away with those and sort of leave the first songs that I was writing so id say the feed back helped me stay on course.
What did I learn from this project that can help me in the future?
This project has taught me loads of different skills that I can use in future like the start of using Ableton and Logic for recording mastering and mixing wich is crazy useful because thats one of the most used ways people record and get their songs ready and released. I have learnt lyric writings skills even if it wasn’t a lot it still matters in the long run I just have to keep practicing now I have started.
Where there any unexpected issues or events that impacted my project?
The unexpected issue was just how much the project changed from the first plan being writing 6 songs and learning a hard one which could have possibly been used to perform or use in some way I am sure to 2 songs a performance to no performances all recording. Either way I am glad the project went like this I really needed a way to be pushed into the world of DAWs and this project was a good way to do it.
How would I rate the overall success of my project from a scale of 1 to 10 and why ?
I would rate the overall success 6 out of 10 which isn’t amazing but its true the plan that I was supposed to finish with was to write and record 2 songs written by me with lyrics and all I could record was 2 demos with no lyrics only proof of a small amount of written lyrics in a note pad.
but on the nicer side I feel the entire process and the final product (of the right take) for Compromise by Phony Ppl was a great learning experience and a successful side to this project.